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By Lucy Craymer

WELLINGTON, New Zealand--Newmont Waihi Gold Ltd., part of Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM), has been given permission to mine gold and silver below a residential area on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, a company spokesman confirmed Tuesday.

The company spokesman said the company had been granted permission Monday for the Correnso underground mine in Waihi East, valued at 200 million U.S. dollars.

According to the company an area between 130 meters and 350 meters below the surface will be mined for ore. Construction of the mine is expected to start in mid-2013 and it could operate until the end of 2020.

Newmont produces on average around 100,000 ounces of gold and around 750,000 ounces of silver annually in the Waihi area. Last year, Newmont Mining Corp. announced plans to cut about 20 jobs and scale back its New Zealand exploration program due to rising costs and weak commodity prices but has continued to move ahead with the Correnso project.

The Denver, Colo.-based company produced 5.0 million ounces of gold and 143 million pounds of copper in total in 2012. Aside from New Zealand, the company has operations in the U.S., Australia and Indonesia as well as other countries.